Be polite to your fellow Metalstormers. Speak your opinion in a mature and respectful way, and don't try to insult anyone.

No discrimination of any kind, no Nazi propaganda, racism or slurs will be tolerated here (and please, don't use any avatar, banner or nickname 'linked' with such ideologies).

Respect the Staff, Moderators and Admins. If you have received a warning, better heed it - or get yourself banned.

There should be no complaining in the forums about your posts locked or removed, or people getting banned. If you feel it was a mistake, send a PM to a Moderator. Same goes for rejected edits, you should read the FAQ and PM a Staff member for explanations if you feel something wasn't right.

When voting for an album, remember your vote must be fair and not influenced by what other voters have done before you. Please give realistic ratings and remember a 10 means the album is a masterpiece, an album that changed the way we listen to music nowadays.

No pornographic, nude or gore pictures here. If you really want to share them with us, use links and a clear warning.

No links to illegal downloads, or soliciting such links. Make sure the bands or labels allow their material to be downloaded before posting such links anywhere on this site.

Speak only English here, please. This also applies for your personal texts and signatures.

New users aren't allowed to create new topics until they have reached either 100 posts or 50 community points or have been registered for more than 30 days. This is to ensure that everyone knows the following rules:

Refrain from using Caps Lock, unless you really need to shout something - a couple of words, maximum one sentence. Never write the whole topic title in uppercase!

While we understand that we can't ask people to write in pure academic english, there are still minimum requirements:

This is not the place to spam and post nonsense. Before posting a new message think if it's worth posting at all.

We do not condone "spamming", and this can include everything we judge inappropriate and for the most part it has to do with using a bit of common sense.

For instance:

Don't go bashing bands (or any other subject for that matter) you don't like unless you really have something of worth to say.
Replying with a phrase like "it sucks" without backing it up with some argument is totally useless and will only offend people.

Try to always give detailed opinions, with explanations and as much as information as needed.Short posting, including stuff in the vein of "SLAYER SLAYS!!!" and posting nothing but smilies is often considered spamming.
Remember that what you post should be worth it!

Try to stay on-topic - if you want to discuss something unrelated, open a new thread for it.
Turning off-topic in a serious discussion serves no good to the quality of the forums.

Also, when creating new threads, please bear in mind the following:

Use the forum search before posting a thread about some band.
There's a good chance that there already is a similar thread, and there's no need for a second one.

Name your topics according to their content.
If you're writing about some particular subject, try to reflect it in your topic title as clear as possible.
Titles like "Check this out!" are no good.

Please refrain from using pictures to illustrate a point (memes) unless that point is clearly depicted by that picture. Especially we won't allow memes without any written text. If you feel that a picture can contribute to the topic in a funny or informative way, please add some lines to it, explaining your point. Posts not adhering to this will be deleted without warning. As will posts with multiple memes.

When quoting other users, please delete any nested quotes (quotes within quotes) you don't want to comment on. If you feel you need to post a nested quote, please see to it that it doesn't go above four layers of nesting. When quoting posts containing images or videos, please remove all images and videos in your quote unless you are directly referring to the image or video. In these cases, please avoid quoting more than one item at once.

That being said, you should have no problem if you make use of a little common sense. Should you have any question, please send a private message to one of the guys in the moderation team before you do something that we may deem as wrong.

The shoutbox offers a more direct way to communicate with other members from the site. Here are some useful things to know about using the shoutbox:

- As mentioned in the rules of Metal Storm, you should respect the others - site members but also bands, labels, etc.
- Don't go shouting "This band sucks/rocks!" without any reason or context.
- When posting links, please also take the time to drop a line about its content.
- Also, as mentioned in our global rules, avoid posting links to pornographic, nude, gore or discriminatory material.
- Don't flood the shoutbox with nonsense shouts.

Inappropriate shouts can be removed at any time and can lead to sanctions.

The shoutbox is not meant to be as tightly moderated as our forums, since there's no real topic. A minimum use of common sense is all you need to fully enjoy it.

Permissions allow/disallow users to perform various functions, like edit bands, post messages or start new topics. Permissions can be modified by Admins and Mods. To see who's got which permissions, go here.

Warnings are given to users who violate site rules and policies in any way. They come with a number of days for which you can be banned. When you get your third warning, you will be banned for the combined amount of days you received with warnings.

After the number of days expires, you get the permissions back. You can view your current permissions in your profile.

Being an elite is a privilege since they are chosen from members who contribute a lot to Metal Storm. They submit database modifications and editorial content, help moderate the forums or display exceptional community spirit and musical knowledge. Elite members also benefit from additional insight into how we work at Metal Storm HQ and from close contact with the staff. Elite status doesn't come without responsibilities - elite users are considered examples of conduct in the community and need to uphold their excellent reputation in order to hold onto their status.

Official Contributors are those members who contribute to Metal Storm in an official capacity. They work closely with Staff members and perform duties such as database edits, news submissions and also submit official reviews.

Due to the sheer nature of their contributions, those members will be looked at for future Staff promotions.